Professional sports and agents go hand-in-hand these days. Very few pro athletes handle their own contracts and negotiations with team ownership. Agents like Scott Boras and Leigh Steinberg became famous as some of their clients over the years, a testament to the power and influence of agents.
In 1996 a movie about a sports agent 'Jerry Maguire' put the phrases 'Show me the money' and 'Help me, help you' into pop culture.;)
Flickr - JohnnyCashsAshes
But since you're not a professional athlete and most likely don't have a super agent negotiating your next deal for you, you need to be your own agent. And what do the best agents bring to the table?
Preparation - The best agents understand not only your value and your performance record, but also the history and market position of the company. If this is a salary negotiation with a new company use all available sources of information, starting with the obvious (company website, financial statements), the less obvious (company Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, LinkedIn Company profile), and the most raw (Glassdoor, Vault, and Indeed forums). Walk in to that room knowing you are better prepared than the person across the table from you.
Confidence - This confidence stems from thorough preparation. Once you have assessed the situation, established your key must-haves (salary, benefits, vacation, etc.), then you have to walk into the meeting confident but not arrogant, firm but not inflexible. When you truly understand your contribution and the value the marketplace puts on your skills, confidence should not be an issue. You are a star baby, make sure you always understand your own awesomeness.
Client focus - remember who the client is, it is YOU. As your own agent you are trying to negotiate a deal that will be mutually beneficial to both parties, but at the end of the day you are your only advocate. You have to protect your interests first. Unless you are working for your Mom, the person on the other side of the table almost certainly does not have your best interests as their top priority, in fact they shouldn't. Only you have to live with the outcome of the negotiation, so you better make sure you advocate for yourself every step of the way.
Network - In sports negotiations a good agent is constantly working and maintain contingency plans, in case the deal can't get worked out. He or she uses their network connections in other organizations and with media to have some idea of where their client can go next, or better still, which teams to try and play against each other to get the best deal. You should be doing the same, staying on top of what the other target companies in your region or your industry are doing. Who may be hiring? What company is expanding? Is your industry undergoing consolidation or is outsourcing changing the nature of what you do? The more personal contacts you can make inside your industry and with your local business organizations the better.
Here is what a great (fake) agent can do, are you getting these kind of results repping yourself?